The Calm Before
by Eilisan
Summary: “Mayday, request immediate assistance…have encountered …anomaly is … out of control… cannot…must land…” A discovery in the forbidden forest leads to more than was ever expected. Brace for impact, and read on…
1. Default Chapter

**The Calm Before….**

**Chapter 1 -Unexpected**

_A/N – Crash-landing in a Harry Potter universe near you… This is my (hopefully interesting) attempt at a romance with plot…hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Norda, Exultation (the ship, not the feeling), and anyone that happens to be on it. If you recognize it, it's probably not mine. _

"What's happening – quickly! Report!" Norda Radomira, intergalactically acclaimed engineer, and current supervisor of her engineering crew onboard the space ship Exultation, raced across the metal platform towards the group of people stationed around a tiny control panel. The sight that met her eyes was not a pleasant one.

"It's growing! I can't stop it – it's out of control –"

"At least try and stabilize it!" A hard woman's voice rang out over the frantic mob in the control room, trying to cut through the increasing terror that was palatable in the room.

Visible through a small Plexiglas window in front of the control panel was the reason for their terror: a glowing substance rapidly increasing in mass could be seen in the holding vault. The vault was regularly used on their ship to hold substances of unknown properties before they were studied, and was impenetrable to most substances.

"I'm trying – it…it's no use marm, we're going to have to cut it loose – "

"In this state?" Norda yelled back, fear causing her to lash out, "You might as well point a gun at our heads and pull the trigger! We wouldn't survive the fallout." She mechanically gripped the control consol in front of her, trying to fight off the rising panic that was slowly robbing her of reasoning.

"How do you know, we've never encountered this type of substance before…" The voice countered. Norda tried to place the voice in her memory, racking her mind to provide her with a face.

"At this rate," another male voice cut in, starling her out of her revelry. "We don't stand much of a chance anyway – it's reacting in a way our tests didn't anticipate…"

She turned her head sharply to face the speaker, then shook her head sadly from side to side. "No, having it blow up and take us with it was not something that was in the plan for the day."

Suddenly she hit the controls forcefully, feeling totally helpless. "Unfortunately, this substance has yet to be informed of the plan, or simply sees no reason to follow it."

What was supposed to be a routine substance analysis had quickly turned deadly on Norda's shift. The sample's isotopes had become very unstable because of the energy given off by the analysis beam that they were using to scan the substance. This had turned the substance into a highly volatile material, shorting out their ships control panel.

The Exultation's crew had turned a mere curiosity into a deadly bomb, ticking away in the center of their ship.

Its containment in the holding vault was only a temporary measure that was buying them time. But how much time they had, nobody knew.

"Try scrambling its energy source," somebody suggested. "It will disrupt the substance's isotopes and should – "

"Blow it up?" Norda yelled back.

"We should cut our loses before it increases in mass even more." The voice argued.

"At this rate, crewman, our losses range from the simple loss of computer control to the loss of human life. I don't like either of those outcomes – give me another option!" She directed her plea out towards her staff, frantically sorting through her training for something that would apply to the situation.

"I'm waiting for an answer!" She yelled out.

None came. The silence from her crew was absolute. No hysterical mumblings, or the sound of frantic footsteps on metal floor as people raced around to strengthen the vault containing the substance.

Nothing.

The only sound was the broken wail of the emergency siren, and the hissing and clanking of broken metal as the substance continued to grow and force its way out of the cage her crew had built around it.

Then a giant crack, like a horsewhip out of hell, rang through the ship. The floor heaved, bolts strained and groaned, and the entire ship seemed to shudder with the stress that the substance was exerting on it. Norda was suddenly slammed up against the control panel, and quickly felt its sharp corner bite into her left thigh. All around her, terror broke loose.

"I'm loosing containment!" Was the petrified scream – Norda identified the voice this time: Colbie, a new member of her crew. As green as they come, and full of that unexplainable inner urge to go out and try his fortunes in space. Norda wished things had ended better for him.

She probably shouldn't be thinking about his life in the past tense.

Regrettably, however, that line of thought wasn't something that she had control of at the moment.

Fire suddenly erupted from a nearby control consol. The power being diverted to keep the substance contained had proved to be too much for its fragile circuits. More blasts followed, as the power overload moved from one consol to the next, spraying fiery sparks as it went.

"Somebody get on that!" Norda cried out, pointing at the blaze. She was barley aware of a reply – all she could do was watch with almost hysterical humor as people ran to extinguish the inferno. Shock and disbelief were eating away at her mind. She couldn't believe that this was actually happening. After all her crew had been through together, this couldn't be how it all ended; all due to an anomalous substance.

Seconds later, the chilling cry Norda had feared all along rang out:

"It's gone, containment is gone!"

Norda watched in horror as the substance that was housed in the holding vault burst from its confines, a riot of ricocheting colors that pulsated with power. In alternate circumstances, she might have considered the sight a beautiful one. But now it was like an omen of death. She had no choice.

"Eject." she whispered hoarsely, her voice full of defeat.

"What was that ma'am?" Colbie asked, straining to hear her over the ringing claxon and the cacophony of screaming voices that echoed off the metal walls.

"Eject." She repeated, louder this time, and with more force. "Eject it, and pray to whatever being or entity you think is out there for some sort of miracle to keep us in one piece, because we're sure as hell going to need it."

Norda merely stared as Colbie's hands raced across the control panel, fingers trembling as they did their deed. Then he stopped dead, his nerve failing him. The final command that would eject the substance and resign them to their fate was stillborn, as his shaking fingers hovered over the final button that would complete the sequence.

Norda clasped his shoulder tightly with her left hand, trying to transfer some sort of comfort through that simple contract.

"Let it go," She whispered, willing him into action.

She would never know if he had actually heard her, or if it was simply the action that spurred him onward. But soon Norda was watching with almost morbid fascination as the airlock opened, and the pulsating substance was sucked into the vacuum. Then, chest tight with fear, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and waited for collision. For the bomb to finally go off.

"Brace for impact." she murmured softly to herself

She didn't have to wait that long at all.

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It was a rather beautiful day at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The sun was shining brightly, birds were singing merrily in the rafters of the old castle, and the giant squid was swimming lazily around in the lake, dousing water playfully on whoever was stupid enough to come too close.

But, through a window, a strange crackling sound could be heard, as well as faint laughter. For today was Hermione's 17 birthday, and a group of friends were busy enjoying her rather extraordinary gift…

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"So what exactly is it?" Ron asked thoughtfully, poking at the rectangular metal box on the floor with his foot

"Hey! Stop it, you'll break it." Hermione said, quickly grabbing the box and placing it back on the floor out of the reach of his foot. She lay back down on her stomach and continued to fiddle around with the dials protruding from the box.

"Didn't you hear the first time?" Ginny asked, bouncing slightly on the bed in excitement as she stared at the box.

"I don't know how any one expects to hear _anything_ over the racket that thing's making – can you make it shut up?" Ron countered, scowling slightly at the box.

"I'm just tuning it – try practicing some patience until I get a frequency…"

"But how can you get a frequency? I thought it was made out of some sort of meat or something,"

"Oh for goodness sake Ron," Hermione said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes at him, "I don't know how anyone can be so totally clueless about all things muggle – it's a _HAM_ radio, a sort of …"

"Muggle machine– exactly, that would be my point. Why exactly is there a muggle contraption working in Hogwarts? I thought that we had some sort of dampening field that stopped those sorts of abominations from coming in here. Maybe that's why it's making that weird noise…"

"Static Ron, it's called static," Harry remarked casually from his position perched on the bed.

"_Static_. Sure, whatever. Anyway, as I was saying, maybe it's the magic that's inferring with its working…"

"Oh, I'm positive it isn't. I've hooked the radio up to a different magical power source, and that should solve all the problems…" Hermione pouted for a moment, looking thoughtfully at the radio which was currently spewing static. "I just don't understand why it isn't working…"

"Pass it up here, Hermione," Harry said, holding out his hand in her direction, "I've seen Dudley fiddling around with these sorts of things before he breaks them, and I might be able to help."

Hermione passed it over to him, and he placed it on the bed beside him, looking attentively at it. The many dials that Hermione had been twisting gleamed faintly with the shininess of an object nearly new. He flipped a small switch on the side, then continued to turn the dials. The sound emitted from the radio slowly raised in pitch, then dropped back down to its normal static drone.

"Naw, its hopeless." Harry sighed, handing it back to Hermione.

"So, what exactly is that thing supposed to do?" Ron asked, looking at the radio dubiously, with an expression which clearly showed that he did not trust it in the slightest.

"Well, it can play music and all that, but the main thing that it can be used for is, well, communication."

"On a radio?"

"Yes, it's a wireless amateur radio communicator. You can contact other people on HAM radios across the world if they have the right transmitter. Most people broadcast use HAM radios as a hobby, but other people use the radios to broadcast information about events like mudslides and tornadoes. You can also listen in on other people's communications and…"

"Wow, sensational," Ron commented dryly, "Now you can eavesdrop on people's conversations at any time, and no one will know you're doing it. I'll make sure to mark it down on my next Christmas list…"

"Really Ron, you're being an idiot. It's all rather interesting actually…" Harry said, punching Ron lightly on the shoulder.

"I'll have to take your word for it mate, seeing as our little friend is unable to perform at the present time" Ron said, motioning towards the radio now in Hermione's lap with an outstretched hand.

"I really don't know what's wrong with it – I'm following all the instructions Mom sent me with it," Hermione moaned, flipping another switch.

Suddenly, silence filled the room, punctuated by a single note of sound, then silence again. All eyes in the room stared at the radio.

"Make it do it again Hermione." Ginny whispered, almost as if she was worried about frightening the radio before it could sound again.

"Goodness" Hermione said "I don't know really what I did, I suppose I'd better…"

"BEEEEP…beep…beep…beep………beep …BEEEP……..beep… beep…beep….…...beep………...BEEEEEEP…..BEEEEEEP…..BEEEEEEP"

Ginny clapped her hands together excitedly, and Ron peered down at the box with obvious curiosity. Harry, however, was unable to disguise his laughter at Hermione's disgruntled expression.

"Oh! That's classic!" Harry laughed "Morse code, and from the look on your face Hermione, you can't understand a thing. Just try another frequency…"

Muttering dark phrases towards the radio, Hermione turned one of the dials slightly, bringing up more static for a second before a deep male voice was heard through the room:

"_This is oil tanker license number 329004-281-B requesting docking clearance, over._"

Hermione arched her eyebrow slightly at this, as Harry bit back another bark of laughter. Shooting him a glare, she turned up the volume a bit.

" _crackle …received 329004-281-B, please wait while request is processed, over_."

"_Tanker requesting estimated time of processing, over._"

"_Base estimates thirty minutes, over."_

"_Waiting at the harbor mouth, over and out._"

Then static returned.

"Well, that was promising for a moment," Ron remarked, ignoring Harry who was currently rolling around on the bed in peals of laughter "Here, can I try?"

"Addicted to it already?" Hermione joked "Oh course, here you go."

Ron looked at the box thoughtfully, then started wiggling the dials like he had seen Harry and Hermione do. Static for a while and …

"Go back a bit Ron, I think you just went past something." Ginny said

With exaggerated care, Ron turned the dial backwards slowly, then hit the jackpot.

It wasn't a very clean connection, and the signal kept breaking up at odd moments, but a strong female voice could be heard, voice laced with alarm.

"Mayday, request immediate assistance……have need of……. encountered ….. crackle ……atmosphere too de…..burst of sound……….repeat……. out of control, substance …..crackle……… life support is offli…… cannot………… repeat assistance ……. casualties……."

In the background could be heard sounds of explosions, and frightened voices

"……any assistance…… have released…….unknown anomaly….. mayday …..help ….oh my word…."

Then there was a loud explosion, louder than all the rest, and the frequency cut out.

They all looked around at each other, eyes wide.

"I wonder what all that was about." Harry murmured under his breath, breaking the silence hanging in the air. Hermione shook her head, and then quietly turned the radio off.

No one spoke for a while. Ron was about to open his mouth when a whirlwind of air rushed in through the open window, throwing papers strewn around the room into an uproar. An unexplainable force blasted into the castle, causing it to strain at its foundations.

Ginny threw her hands up in front of her face to protect herself, and Harry pulled out his wand. Then a sound, more horrible than a banshee's cry, rang out. Soul shattering and unearthly, it reverberated through the hallways, echoing menacingly. A slow screeching sound started, growing louder and louder, as the wind slowed to a mere breeze.

Frightened, Hermione rushed over to the window, feeling Harry, Ginny, and Ron move in behind her.

"What on earth is that? Are we under attack?" Ginny asked breathlessly.

Like a brilliant shooting star, a burning wreck falling from the sky came into view through the window frame. It was massive, with fragments of metal flying off its bulk and catching into flame as they neared the earth.

"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, it's going to crash," Hermione breathed in despair.

It impacted into the ground with a force that blasted into the castle, causing the stones of the castle to groan, and Hermione to loose her footing. She fell to the ground with a dull thud, then quickly jumped to her feet to look out the window once more.

In the distance, a smoldering gash could be seen in the middle forbidden forest, a gaping cut across the land from where the wreck had first made landfall to where it had traveled before it had finally slowed to a halt.

The cry of startled birds started up, which could scarcely be heard over the groaning cry of cooling metal, which was audible even from such a distance. Then a fire, originating from the burning mass, could be seen, slowly licking its way through the treetops –

"What should we do?" Ron asked hysterically, wringing his hands, "Somebody's got to do something – it'll burn the entire forest to a crisp, it will…"

Hermione put a finger to her lips, and then pointed out the window with a shaking finger to where a lightly shimmering blue mist was starting to settle on the tree tops. Steam started to hiss from where the mist came into contact with the heated mass. Then silence reigned, a stark opposite compared to the screeching that had been heard earlier.

Everyone in the room stood there, the look of incredulity on their faces as they considered the events that had just occurred.

"Well, let's get out there."

In an exaggerated change of mood from the hysterical one he had been in moments earlier, Ron dusted off his trousers slightly with his hands, and started to move towards the door.

"Ron," Hermione said hesitantly. "It might be dangerous, we don't know what's out there."

"Well, whatever was going to happen has now happened." Ginny said logically

"And besides, Hermione, how often does a UFO land in the middle of your back yard?"

Ron stated, grinning slightly in an attempt to lighten the tension in the room

Hermione looked over to Harry to see if he would take her side of the argument. He merely shrugged. Swallowing slightly, and squaring her shoulders, she accepted the inevitable with the practice of one who has been forced to take that line of action many times before.

"Well, we'd best be going then – we'll be hard pressed to beat the rest of the school there.

(to be continued…)

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A/N Woot! What an interesting chapter to write. To all you HAM enthusiasts out there, I'm sorry for any errors in this piece. I'm new to the lingo of this technology, so please don't use any of the information found here for a scientific report or anything of that sort. (There are so many interesting websites that would be more than happy to give you the basics and more) Anyway, stay tuned (haha, please _humor_ the author as she makes un-necessary puns) for the next installment!

Reviews are _always _appreciated… and will be rewarded with invisible life size replicas of the castle of Hogwarts – soon to be a real collectors item I'm told…


	2. Whirlpool in the Wind

**Chapter 2 – Whirlpool in the Wind**

Darkness was her real first awareness, a conscious observation of the absolute absence of color, shape, sound, and taste. She was trapped in a void so complete that the fingers of consciousness could find nothing upon which to grasp; nothing to pull her mind out of the pit into which it had fallen. Her mind wept silently, but soon gave into the abyss within.

She slept.

The progression of time isn't something easily measured by one who drifts in and out of consciousness, but time passed all the same. From that final crash to earth, to the gradual settling of the world around the ship, the seconds moved by, with no one to measure them.

Slivers of matter were the first to penetrate Norda's mind, calming a mind reeling from sensory deprivation.

A gentle rustling of leaves, interrupted by metallic pops from bolts of metal settling as they cooled soon caught her attention. Then burning, a harshness not wholly unexpected in these circumstances, followed soon after. The ache reached into her mind, plucking at strings of pain, unerring and ceaseless in its monotonous tone. She opened her eyes, groaning slightly to herself, and tried to look around, noticing as she did so something extremely odd about her surroundings:

It was very, very dark.

Almost un-naturally so. Space, a dark void in which light can scarcely survive, was the only comparison that she could think of.

_However_ she tried to think logically_ the weightlessness that usually comes along with_ _that particular scenario isn't currently in effect._ She gave a mental headshake. _So clearly, I'm not abandoned in the pit of space._ Norda sighed._ I suppose that's one good thing_.

Trying to turn over to her left side, she found herself pinned between two very hard, smooth objects that she couldn't move. _Lovely, I've somehow landed myself in a metal coffin – just what I needed to boost my confidence_.

She sighed again, praying for blessed unconsciousness to come quickly and free her of her cage. But fate has a way of doing exactly the opposite of what you wish. Thank Murphy for that annoying quirk of life.

Norda was unavoidably, without a shadow of a doubt, wide awake. She exhaled sharply.

_Well, there's nothing else to do, might as well see what parts of my body are in working order…_

A quick mental check-up did not yield happy results. Her left arm was responding slightly, her right arm a little more so. Her legs were presently out of the question.

Norda's current position was not a comfortable one, but as she had neither the strength nor the means of changing it, she resided herself to that current fate. Racking her mind for some sort of recollection of how she had come to be trapped in such a manner, she was not surprised to find that the shock of the event had placed a memory block in her mind. There had been some sort of accident; but other than that, she had no clue whatsoever. A 'do not disturb' sign of sorts; she'd try again later.

The sulfuric stench of burnt, cooling chemicals was becoming overpowering, and Norda could feel the immense mass of metal pushing down on top of her, cutting into every inch of her body. _Nothing_ she thought distractedly _could be more worrying. _Then she heard something in the distance. Focusing carefully on the sound, she was able to hear what sounded like disjointed and agitated snippets of conversation. The voices were far-off, but were definitely moving closer.

The buzzing was slowly gaining a semblance of order, as individual voices could finally be discerned. A rolling drawl, a pompous, then nervous laugh. A jolly rich voice questioning; a timid, curious reply.

"A fireball!"

" - step aside, we need to see – "

"Might be dangerous, it would be best if - "

"Come on, _come on, _we're getting close to it - "

"Almost there now…"

Then a louder, authoritative female voice rose over the masses, her tone clipped in a no nonsense manner.

"All students will proceed immediately back to the castle – no exceptions. Quickly now!"

The voice reminded Norda of her old survival training mistress Madam Clorvister, a grumpy old lady whose carrying voice was enough to make grown men tremble at three miles away. Norda smiled slightly as the past molded with the present, overcome by the memory:

* * *

What do you mean you can't jump that high – my hamster could jump higher than that!" 

_Ah yes_ Norda thought sleepily, wistfully immersing herself in the little escape from the present the memory had provided her with. _I remember that hamster well._

It was a small, evil looking little thing with beady little eyes, muddy coloring, and teeth that enjoyed biting anything that moved. It was rumored around the space academy campus that the creature was actually Clorvister's husband, reincarnated from the dead to torture poor, unsuspecting students. Norda, whose fingers bore the honor of first hand experience with the little monster, was inclined to agree with the gossip. That thing was an abomination.

"That was by far the wimpiest jump I've ever seen in all my years! Pathetic! Back of the line trainee, you're going to try that excuse for jumping again before you even think about leaving!" Madam Clorvister yelled boldly, squinting eyes firmly fixed upon the young man who had just finished the exercise.

He was red faced from both embarrassment and exertion, looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him up whole. Hearing muted laughter behind her, Clorvister rounded on the unfortunate souls, looking from eye to eye to discover the culprit. Finding no indication of guilt, she decided yelling would probably be the best option.

"Would you like to join him? In line! Hurry it up there! Have you got tree roots for legs? Logs for brains?" Clorvister yelled, voice carrying easily over the hushed clamor of booted feet as they rushed towards the back of the line in order to escape her wrath.

Norda watched from a distance as her younger self snapped to attention as Clorvister passed, then rounded on the group again.

"I've got three _years_ with you twinkies. _Three years!_" Clorvister bellowed "I don't know if I could whip you into shape in three _decades_! You soft, pampered…" she broke off, shaking her head in disbelief at the lack of experience in the trainees in front of her. Then she motioned for the students in front of her to continue on with the exercise, yelling out with brutal bluntness the problems with the way each student completed the jump, from muddled landings to fouled takeoffs.

Five years since Norda's last Clorvister lesson, Norda still blessed and cursed that woman's name. Clorvister's endless nagging and yelling had made survival class the hardest class to endure.

But the lady had sure done her job.

Norda could count eight people from her class alone that wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Clorvister's endless drills and training.

* * *

"Now get a move on and jump! What are you waiting for? Come on trainee, jump! When I say jump, you jump. It's very simple, how much more simple can you get? If you can't do a simple…"

Clorvister's voice was getting more muffled, being replaced by a different voice as Norda was jolted back to the present._ Oh lovely, I'm loosing my mind. Just what I needed…_ Norda thought

"You are to proceed directly to your dormitories – no exceptions. Anyone found outside of their respective rooms will be suspended! I repeat, return to the castle immediately."

Then the voice turned almost exasperated. "Yes Mr. Weasley, that means you as well!" the woman's voice yelled out again.

"But professor - " another voice whined,

"No buts, Mr. Weasley."

"But we heard…" another voice, more self-assured than the first,

"No offense, Miss Granger, but you would be deaf if you had not heard this crash. Now – "

"But that's not what I meant…" the voices faded away, though others seemed to be getting closer. A man's voice, and a woman's;

"Terrible, utterly dreadful. Such loss of life. What was this contraption?" A rustling sound, accompanied by what sounded like a hand scraping against burnt metal pierced the silence.

_What will they do to me? _ Norda struggled to get free, futile attempts meeting pointlessly against the cold steel that held her pinned. Then, on her left, she heard the crunching sound of footsteps. She froze as her training cut in. She was helpless in an unknown situation – it was probably best not to make any sound until she knew more about those who had discovered her. Norda could almost see Clorvister nodding her head in agreement. Instead of moving, Norda strained her ears to hear any other sound.

"What is it?" A hushed voice said to her right. Norda fought the almost uncontrollable urge to scream. That voice was extremely close.

_I though that I had more time before they made it here!_ Her mind thought illogically. Norda's hands moved to push against the metal fragments embedded around her, but then reason cut in. Any movement would make a sound. So she froze, and listened. _Go away…go away… oh please go away…_

"It…it looks like a b-battleground." Norda could hear the shake in the woman's voice, "Merlin, what h-happened here?"

"I fear that we may never know," was the saddened reply. "there's been so much destroyed."

Another woman's voice, this one higher in pitch, and lighter in tone. "It is, or was, some sort of machine, that's for sure – here, give me a hand with this chunk of metal, it seems to be covering something."

A sound like fingernails on a blackboard cut through the forest air, and Norda couldn't help but wince.

"Well, that didn't work." the deeper male's voice said. Norda could hear the sad laughter in his tone. "But no matter, I don't think that we should try moving too much today, it might destroy the few clues that we have in discovering what happened."

"Whatever you say old man, you're the boss…" was the deceptively jovial reply.

Norda heard the footsteps stop moving, and then start coming back towards her. She felt, rather than saw, a person move towards where she lay pinned.

"Now this, this is unexpected…"

"What are you doing Albus…what's unexpected?" came the curt call from over to her left.

"I've learnt to expect the unexpected from my time here at this school," the voice of the man was closer still this time, and seemed almost introspective, "but this… this is indeed unexpected…"

"Albus, what is -" the woman was questioning this time .

"I think…yes I think that there's something alive in here." he interrupted softly.

"My god Albus, you must be joking. You saw that thing come down and – "

"Quiet Minerva." the voice ordered almost sharply in its pre-occupation. Norda heard him mutter something softly under his breath, but the words seemed so garbled that she had no hope of understanding them.

Suddenly Norda tried not to gasp as she felt a slight probing pressure within her mind. It stopped as quickly as it had come, but was soon replaced by an awareness of movement around her.

"There's definably something alive in this wreck." said the man, his voice accompanied by a rasping sound. It sounded like he was moving around, trying to get a better view of the wreckage

"But how could something have survived that impact?" he muttered questioningly to himself.

Norda could have answered that question for him, but she didn't dare speak. All ships that flew in space were designed to survive the worst. The architecture was tested to ensure that it could survive high velocity impacts, hoping to increase the chances for survival for those on board in the event of a crash landing. Norda shuddered – she'd always read about crash survival in textbooks, but she'd never thought that she'd actually be in those types of situations.

"It's a weak feeling, but it's definitely there and…ah, here we are…" the man's voice had turned kindly calm, "I've found you now, there's nothing to worry about." In other circumstances it might have soothed her. But all she could think about was her helplessness as an unknown person, who knew that she was there, was standing above her. Her instincts kicked in, and she struggled against the metal.

"Now, we'll have none of that." the deep voice said, amusement echoing in his voice. Norda didn't see how any part of this situation could be amusing, but in the next moment Norda felt a presence of sorts slowly weighing down her limbs.

_Oh my gosh, this is it…I'm doomed. _She tired to fight against it, to scream and lash out against the presence holding her captive. But no sound came out. No movement had any effect. She gave up her resistance, and resigned herself to her fate. The man above her seemed to sense this, and she could almost see him nod.

"That's it, easy my dear… we'll have you out of there in no time."

More mutterings this time, and Norda felt the mass of metal around her start to shift as piece by piece the fragments were pulled away from on top of her. Norda couldn't understand how a single man could be lifting that metal – the weight had to be enormous.

A sudden beam of light caught her full in the face, and Norda jumped slightly at the sight of it. Above her she could disern three blurry objects looking down on top of her, their faces blurred and pale against the blinding sunlight.

"There you are…You're in no danger, child. Just relax." It was one of the woman this time, her voice motherly.

The soft presence surrounding her limbs constricted slightly in a non-threatening manner, holding her securely in place. This time she did not fight against the presence that held her, but rather against the pulsating pain in her body that was slowly forcing her back into unconsciousness.

_No…no…please…I need to meet this threat face on_ she tried to tell her mind, mustering her strength to fight against the unconsciousness.

She knew it was hopeless. Even if she did get free, she was in no condition to run away and escape, but reason had no hold in her mind right now.

"No, please no…" she whispered croakily aloud.

"We've got you now, there's nothing to fear." said the man above her.

Then she couldn't do a thing about it. Unconsciousness took hold, blurring her vision until she was left with nothing to hold onto anymore.

And she slept.

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**A/N Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that it didn't seem too weird. Thanks to all those who reviewed (tis much appreciated in every sense of the word). Does Clorvister remind you of a gym teacher you know? ( know she certainly reminds me of one…)**

Shout-outs:

**Midnight'sGone**: Glad I've got your attention – hopefully this chapter satisfies:)

**girl from Iceland**: Oh yes…

**The Goose-Girl:** Thanks for your comment! Very kind of you!

**Anjyll:** I'm glad you like my writing style… trust me, there's definitely more on the way

**Silver Sorceress:** Thanks for the enthusiastic review … and of course there will be some AD/MM… in time. (What kind of story would this be without a little :cough: a lot :cough: AD/MM?). Still, there will be a good plot to go with the romance, so hopefully the story will be interesting whether you're an AD/MM shipper or not…

**Questionablelight: Thank-you**– glad you think this is an interesting idea.


	3. Encased in a Room

A/N – I guess this is AU now, thanks to HBP… oh well…lalalala… HBP never occurred… ignoring…denial…

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**Chapter 3 – Encased in a Room**

A low voice murmured, its gentle tones soothing her mind, as its melody rose and lowered above the sound of flapping curtains. Another voice, more gravelly than smooth, tuned in afterwards, lulling her back to sleep. A gentle hand swept over her brow, its cold hand relieving briefly the tension that was residing behind her eyes.

Then nothing.

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"Is this an appropriate time to be asking if she has much time left?" Albus Dumbledore asked quietly, eyes flickering over to the small white bundle of bandages that lay on the bed to his left, leaving no doubt as to whom he was referring.

"I don't really know." A sharp voice answered from behind him, followed by the distinctive sound of glass upon glass.

He turned his head slightly to gaze at the slightly portly nurse as she wrestled with the stopper to the bottle, finally twisting it shut and returning the bottles to the cabinet. With brisk steps Poppy Pomfrey was by his side, motioning him soundlessly to move what would have appeared to an outsider to be a pile of bandages into an upright position.

But he knew better, watching as the matron shifted the bandages to reveal a girl's pale face, deftly pouring the liquid down the girl's throat. Only after Poppy was finished did she begin to speak again.

"She's not the worst I've seen, Merlin knows Snape's given me enough grief with his injuries… but still – " Poppy halted, gently picking up a small wrist, which was almost indistinguishable beneath the wrapping that covered it, and ran her hands slowly over it, testing the wrist for its flexibility, and extent of injury.

"It's like this, Albus. She'll either pull through and be up and talking in a few hours, or we'll be burying her." Her eyes flickered over to Albus's face, sharp eyes softening in grief at what even magic couldn't prevent. "At this point in time it could shift to either extreme in a heartbeat."

He sighed slightly, returning his gaze back to the bandages, unwilling to look into the injured face of the woman again. "Then all we can do is wait…"

"Well, yes." She admitted. "You don't have to remain; I'll inform you of any developments as they occur…"

Albus shook his head, reclining slightly back into the bedside chair. "I will remain here with our - our visitor."

"Really Albus, there isn't much need." Poppy replied, decisively pausing to push one of the bandages around the girls face back into position again. "It's not like she posses any threat to us in her condition."

"I never meant to suggest that I thought she was anything of the sort." Albus said, looking sharply at the matron. "Indeed, I think we can discount her possibility of being a threat to us – she's in no condition to move about unaided, let alone co-ordinate a surprise attack."

"Then why …"

"I will remain until _she_ is out of danger" He stated softly, yet firmly.

"Albus, you've not had enough sleep as it is, and there isn't much good that your presence can do that – "

"I believe hope is a firm motivator, no matter what the cause, or the source." He interrupted quietly, gaze fixed upon the bandaged chest that was slowly, yet steadily, rising in and out with each breath. Madam Pomfrey had stabilized her breathing not ten minutes past, and he had not yet got over the novelty of such movement from the girl.

Poppy sighed, having seen that look on the Headmasters face before. "Don't go getting attached to her sir… you're not responsible for what's happened to her."

"This woman is currently within our care at Hogwarts, and I will remain." He stated again, choosing to ignore her cautionary tone.

"You're a stubborn old man" She admonished gently, a slight smile playing upon her lips

"But if that's your wish, I have no reason to discount it – it won't do her any ill." Albus inclined his head slightly to acknowledge his thanks, but never took his eyes off of the pile of white.

Poppy moved over in the direction of her office, calling off behind her "Mind you let her sleep Albus."

"She's in little state to do much else, Poppy." He countered sadly, settling back into his chair for a long wait

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It was through half-closed lids later that night that Albus noticed a long shadow making its way stealthily across the hospital wing's floor from his position in the bedside chair.

He followed the shadow slowly with his eyes for a short while before, with a quick flick of his wrist, conjuring up a chair, into which the shadow fell with a grateful sigh.

"You look about as haggard as I feel." The shadow murmured sleepily in a voice remarkably like that of Minerva McGonagall.

Albus leaned further forward, so that the slight light coming in from under Pomfrey's office door illuminated Minerva's face, casting her pale features that were still tense with the pressures of the day into sharp relief.

"Are you implying that I look anything other than remarkable?" He asked in mock indignance, trying to keep the tone of the conversation light.

Minerva took one look of his mussed hair, crumpled robes, and forlorn expression, and tactfully changed the subject.

"Will I ever succeed in sneaking up on you?" She remarked conversationally, her face slowly shaking off the forlorn expression it had carried on its way up to the medical wing.

"Maybe, one day…"

"But not today." She finished, gaining a slight smile from him in return.

"No, not today Minerva… or should I say tonight." He elaborated teasingly, arching one eyebrow at her.

"You think you're being clever Albus, but really you're just highlighting the fact that you've been here forever." Minerva replied, eyes flashing slightly as they stared hard at him.

"Forever hmmmm…" Albus said, leaning back languidly in his chair as he stared up at the beams on darkened ceiling. "I would never have thought that eternity could be squeezed into such a few short moments…"

"Hours Albus, not moments, _hours_."

"Has it been that long already?" Albus feigned incredibility in an attempt to ignore the sharp glare he was still receiving from behind the spectacles in front of him, sparing the ceiling from his calculated gaze to quickly check at the moon's spinning on the pocket watch attached to his robes. "My goodness, so it has been that long. Time does fly."

"Yes, time does fly." Minerva replied, mimicking him sarcastically. "Speaking of flying, you _must_ find time to thank your deputy headmistress for taking care of all the owls that have accosted her, each trying to find out information that the deputy herself didn't know."

Albus looked surprised. "I would have thought that most of them would have been trying to accost me…"

"They would have been, had they been directly addressed to you, and not your office. This turned out to be a really unfortunate turn of events for your deputy headmistress, who _was_ within your office. The owls reached her, instead of their intended victim, hiding as he was within the depths of the infirmary. I swear I've been asked for comments by the Ministry, Daily Prophet, the Quibbler…"

"The Prime Minister of Albonika, the Russian Neverlands. Rest assured Minerva, not all the letters were addressed to my _office_." Albus cut in, reaching across her to pick up a pile of letters that were resting on a bedside table.

"Oh surely you're joking Albus!" She almost begged,

"Sadly…no" Albus replied, quickly flashing the addresses in front of her to back up his claim before returning the pile to the table.

She snorted moodily, a bad habit of hers that he was well acquainted with. "It seems that everyone and their pet Kneazle have been inquiring about the blast and…"

"We have very little to inform them about," He shrugged, an action that made him look more haphazard than ever, executed as it was within the confines of the armchair.

"So she…" Minerva's glance darted towards the bundle of white bandages lying on the bed.

"No Minerva, our guest has yet to reach consciousness, let alone inform us of the sequence of events that have led her, and her piece of molten metal, to land upon our fair fields." He answered her unvoiced question heavily.

"Oh." Minerva replied, mouth crimping itself back into a tight line despondently as she tried to get another look at the girl from the corner of her eye without looking too interested. Albus, however, was not fooled.

"And so it begins again." Albus's deep voice startled Minerva out of her revelry, stopping the hand that had been brushing back a bandage that had fallen into the girl's eyes. Minerva retracted the hand almost guiltily, while staring back at him in mock confusion.

"You simply can't resist can you." He continued, laughter creeping into his tone.

"What…what on earth do you mean?"

He laughed outright this time, the shaking of his shoulders straitening out the wrinkles that had been forming along the length of his robe. "Every time one of these beds become filled you simply can't stop yourself from coming up here."

"Now Albus, after answering owl after owl on your behalf concerning this event, I do believe that I am entitled to _some_ glimpse of the source of this afternoon's problems."

Albus scoffed at her. "Stop playing the deputy Minerva, and pretending that you're not the woman that I know so well." Minerva huffed at his retort, but Albus waved a languid hand towards her to hold off her response. "Minerva, you've already gone mother hen on this girl, and you haven't even had a good look of her." He proclaimed, lips curling in a full grin as the laughter finally reached into his eyes. Minerva could not help but return the gesture, but she had not lost the wits battle yet.

"I'll have you know that I got as good a glimpse of her as you pulled her from that wreckage as the next person and…." Minerva quickly changed her tone from defensive into accusatory "…._and_ like you should be talking."

"I don't know what you mean." He replied, the laughter in his eyes being slowly substituted for a knowing glint that belayed his earlier words.

"And you Albus?" She almost laughed at the situation – it was so nice to be having a battle of wits over something as trivial as this – it made a change from the usual wartime topics that frequented their bantering. "Have you really any right to be accusing me of inquiring! What are you still doing here with her, if not, well, _mollycoddling_ her."

He turned his gaze back to the ceiling, twiddling his thumbs in the air lazily before replying. "I am simply fulfilling the very taxing and demanding job of keeping watchful eye over this…"

Minerva snorted, and shook her head at his antics: "Poppy tried to kick you out already didn't she."

He continued on like he hadn't heard her, "Monitoring the oxygen to hemoglobin ratio and…"

The grin was back in full force, on both their faces "Oh yes, she definitely did." Minerva nodded her head in a knowing manner, and decided to milk the situation for all it was worth. "The nerve of _you_ accusing _me _of being over protective when _you_ have been here for _hours on end _and…"

"…coupled with the hexaglobulin complex which has been suffering from a macro-normal situation cause by…"

"It won't work Albus, I know when you're faking."

He stopped in the middle of an elaborate description of the Terribula and Cornoix juncture to look her straight in the eye in a no-nonsense manner. She was almost positive that he had stolen that particular glare from her. "Or have you suddenly become a certified Medi-wizard in your spare time?"

"Are you implying that I haven't?" Albus adopted a rather indignant expression, which was spoiled by the continual twitching of his lower lip as he attempted to keep from smiling.

Minerva took one look at him and knew that she had to stop this conversation before he continued on. It had happened too many times before. He would prattle on for hours, leaving her no means of claiming victory as he would never give her the chance to have the last word.

Desperate times call for desperate measures Minerva decided as she pushed back her shoulders in a defiant manner, and looked him straight in the eye.

"I can find the solution to that particular question quiet easily" Minerva said, before turning towards the office door and yelling: "Poppy!"

"Minerva, really, there's no real need for you to bring the matron into the…"

"Poppy! I need you clarify something! Pop-"

"Shhh, quiet, the girl……Minerva, that's cheating." He almost huffed, while Minerva was silently patting herself on the back.

"I play to win Albus… you have about as much reason to be here as I do… less in fact, for the main reason I came here was to find you."

"_Main,_" he echoed, scoffing slightly, "I'm sure that your 'mother henish' behavior had nothing to do with your travels and-"

"Albus, don't start this again. You're making dealing with you an almost Herculean feat these days." Minerva almost groaned, covering her eyes.

"Yes, but you seem to be well up to the challenge."

"Oh yes indeed," She remarked sarcastically, "and look at the beautiful muscles it's been giving me."

"Ah, yes, such beauty as those muscles may indeed cause my heart to stop beating." He jested, laughing slightly at both her and at himself, before turning thoughtful. "Well, I do suppose that this is the best place for it."

"What?" Minerva was almost afraid to ask, positive that it would lead to a joke at her expense. Albus did not disappoint.

"Well, if I do suddenly have a heart attack brought on you, I might as well have it close to medical help as possible."

Minerva really did groan this time, "That was horribly random Albus, and 2am is not the time for your beside humor."

"Unfortunately, in the infirmary is the only place I've been able to share my beside humor with you."

"Albus!" She exclaimed, flabbergasted "Are you implying…" But she never had the chance to finish her sentence, as Albus had leapt off of his chair, and was making his way steadily towards the door.

"Oh dear look at the time…."

"You're changing the subject again." Minerva responded, moving to follow him.

"Am I really?" He remarked in a would be casual voice. "The rhododendrons have been in rather full bloom lately, have they not?"

She shook her head at him in mock disgust. "You're in a dangerously cheerful mood right now. May I assume, then, that our patient is out of immediate danger, seeing as my woeful lack of muscles is enough to glean a joke from you?"

Another full smile. "Yes, Poppy expects a full recovery."

"Then why are you still here?" She asked softly again.

"Like you said Minerva, I have rather a soft spot in my heart for the weak and helpless." He gave a slight bow to her at the waist, his grin taking the prudishness out of his actions, before he swept out of the door, closing it solidly behind him.

Minerva took one small step towards the doorway, craning her head towards it in an attempt to see if he had really left. She almost held her breath as she tried to discern the telltale sound of his footsteps heading away from the wing. Her eyes darted from the doorframe, then back towards the bed in which the silent figure lay, before moving back towards the chair that Albus had just left in order to take a good look at the girl and…

"Coming?"

She jerked back at the soft voice, whipping around the see Albus's head peaking around the once closed door. She tried to arrange her features into an innocent expression, and failed miserably.

"Albus! Really! I was simply, you know, about to rest my feet and…" She stopped, glaring at the shadows where his face should be. "Don't you dare say caught in the act."

"I wouldn't dream of it." His voice belaying the exact opposite. Then his voice turned coaxing in a kindly sort of way. "Come Minerva, I've told Poppy to Floo each of us if anything changes."

She hesitated, looking back at the girl

Knowing her feelings exactly, there was nothing that he could do but take her by the elbow and steer her from the room.

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A/N - But where, pray tell, would they be off to? grin Unfortunately, Albus will remain the gentleman for quite a while… or at least until later chapters even bigger grin

Rest assured my friends, not even HBP can stop this ship… we will never surrender! Mwahahahahaha (And Eilisan happily steps through the Alternate Universe Door that has appeared due to HBP)

The next chapter is indeed in the works, but here are my lovely thanks to my wonderful reviewers of the last chapter (Hopefully their number will be added to by those who review at the end of this chapter… hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink…)

Anjyll – Here's to scary gym teachers! Glad you liked the update – hope you like this one as well!

Midnight'sGone – Woot! You came back for more… glad you're enjoying it so far.

Silver Sorceress – Glad to hear that you're not opposed to the AD/MM … there's quite a bit of it in this chapter…hope it was fun to read

East of the Sun – Thanks for the enthusiastic review! Hope the encore was worth the ovation!

TartanLioness – I love getting people hooked… thanks so much for dropping a line to let me know! 


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